Living on a Prayer? Parish Guilds in the Middle Ages
Lecture by Claire Kennan
Given online by the Society for Church Archaeology on November 9, 2021
Excerpt: Tonight I’d like to ask what were the guilds of the Middle Ages? What was their role in medieval society, who could belong to them, and to quote the famous Bon Jovi classic. were they simply living on a prayer? I’m going to start with a bit of a definition for anyone who is unfamiliar with medieval guilds – so the way that historians define them in the Middle Ages is these groups of men and women who came together voluntarily under the patronage of either a particular saint or a holy symbol and they did this in order to support traditional religious ceremonies.
Dr Claire Kennan is a Medieval Historian, Lecturer and Public Engagement Specialist working in Higher Education. She is currently a lecturer at Queen’s University. Click here to view her university website or follow Claire on Twitter @ClaireKennan
Click here to view the Society for Church Archaeology website
Top Image: St James Church in Louth, Lincolnshire. Photo by Kickbok / Wikimedia Commons